Advent, Advent
by daleksanddeerstalkers
Summary: A story advent calendar: A oneshot per day. It contains oneshots from 6 different categories: Divergent, The Hunger Games, Doctor Who, The Maze Runner, Percy Jackson and Supernatural. Have fun!
1. Silent Night (Divergent)

**1 – Silent Night**

It was snowing heavily in Chicago as the two siblings made their way home through the thick white layers. The streets were almost empty, only now and then a man or woman in thick grey clothes passed the two children, who had their arms wrapped tightly around themselves as they trudged along next to each other. Once in a while a bus rolled past them, packed, people pressed to the windows, some of them pointing at the two children and laughing, some waving maliciously, some even shouting curses. But the two children where used to behaviour like this so they just lowered their heads and stumbled on.

It had been the boy's idea to walk instead of unnecessarily taking up space in the packed bus. He always was the first in line to volunteer for charity work or selfless behaviour, unlike his sister. She walked several steps behind him, stumbling through the snow reaching up to her knees, trying to keep up with the boy, but she kept getting stuck with her small legs.

"Come on, Beatrice" her brother hurried her, looking up at the bleak sky. "You know we still have to a lot to do!"

"I'm trying!" the girl answered, making a face at the mentioning of their duties. "But I always get stuck!" she complained. Her brother sighed.

"Just try and walk in my footsteps, okay?" he told her and then resumed his pace and Beatrice had no other choice than to try and follow him. But even walking in the flat footprints her brother left didn't make it easier, and after while Beatrice stopped.

"Caleb", she said, waiting for her brother to turn around. "I can't walk anymore!"

"We're almost there", he replied, "Just keep on walking okay?" He wanted to turn around and continue walking, but Beatrice stopped him.

"But my feet hurt!" She protested. Caleb rolled his eyes, but he came back and extended his hand towards his little sister.

"Alright, I'll carry you. But you can't tell Mom and Dad, okay?" A smile crept on the little girl's face.

"I won't tell them!" she promised and hopped on her brother's back.

Caleb carried his little sister until they were only one corner away from their block.

"Alright, you'll have to walk from here or Mom and Dad will see", he told her. "Stay in my footprints, okay?"

Beatrice nodded and the siblings started walking towards their house, where their mother was already waiting for them. Natalie didn't ask why it had taken them so long to come home, she just led them to the kitchen, where she and her husband had set up two enormous pans with hot soup, a mountain of plastic bowls and spoons and three big sacks filled with warm clothes and blankets. She told her children to grab those sacks while she and Andrew loaded the heavy pans on a small carriage. Then she turned around and looked at the siblings, with a small smile on her face.

"Ready?" she asked and they nodded. "Let's go then!"

She put on her jacket and her scarf and then followed her husband who had opened the door, and the family stepped outside, Andrew pulling the small carriage after him. They started walking down the street, out of Abnegation and towards the quarter of the Factionless. Beatrice walked aside her mother, clutching her hand, and Natalie slightly pulled her, helping her daughter trudge through the heavy snow.

They walked in silence until they reached the Factionless quarter. There were people waiting already, and some of the earlier Abnegation people had started setting up two big wooden tables, one for the clothes and one for the soup. Natalie and Andrew nodded at them and silently helped them, then set up the soup pans.

"Come on, Beatrice", Caleb ordered and tugged at his sister's arm. "We have to unpack the clothes now!"

She nodded silently and followed him, dragging the sack behind her. They joined the other faction members at the second table, and soon after they had started sorting through the pieces of clothing, Natalie came over and took over Beatrice's work.

The first Factionless came and lined up, shivering, and the Abnegation had their hands full. Beatrice stood back, overwhelmed by all the people swarming around, and sneaked a yawn. She was really tired from all that walking. Her mother was the only one who saw it, and she came over after the greatest rush had passed and most of the Factionless were laughing and talking with each other, clutching soup and cuddled up in their blankets.  
"It's over soon and then we can go home." She promised her daughter and smiled. Beatrice only nodded.  
"You did well today", she said. "Next year you might even get to give away some soup yourself!"  
At that moment, Andrew joined the two, and put an arm on Beatrice's shoulder.  
"That was a success", he stated. "There have never been so many participants, on both sides!"  
A smile crept on his face.  
"Merry Christmas", he said, to no one in particular.


	2. Last Christmas (The Hunger Games)

**2 - Last Christmas**

They had had a successful hunt today. Due to the heavy snow that had fallen in the past few days, the turkeys had had trouble avoiding their traps, and thanks to the clearly visible footprints they'd even caught up to a deer's herd. It had been a long time since they'd last had had trouble carrying the game back to the Hob. Joking and laughing, they pulled the game under the fence and made their way through the snowy seam to the major's house. On a day like that fresh meat sold well, especially at the major's and head peacekeeper's doors. They always turned a blind eye on the two friends; they knew as well as everyone else that their hunting was the only chance of their families' survival.  
They knocked on the backdoor of the major's house the first thing. Madge opened, as usual, wearing a beautiful red dress with a green bow around her waist.  
"Merry Christmas!" she smiled at them as Katniss handed her one of the deer, in exchange for a handful of money. Katniss smiled back hesitantly and so did he. He wasn't really sure if he liked Madge, though she sure seemed to like him. She was a bit too cheerful for his taste.  
Just as they were about to close the door, Madge reached behind her for a prettily wrapped present standing on the table behind her.  
"Oh, I almost forgot! For you and Prim." She said and handed the present to Katniss, who blushed slightly.  
"Thank you, Madge!" She said, not knowing what to reply. Even though Madge seemed to be the closest thing Katniss had to a friend in school, she would never have thought to get a present from her. Madge smiled at her for the last time and then closed the door with a silent goodbye. For a moment, Katniss just stood there and stared at the door, then she shrugged and put the pretty present in her father's game bag.  
Their next stop was the house of the Head Peacekeeper. Darius was a kind-hearted red haired man at the age of about thirty-five who paid well for the game they brought. He smiled when he opened the back door for the two teenagers and even let out a "Merry Christmas, you two!" as he dumped more money in Gale's hand than needed. A Christmas present from the Head Peacekeeper. Then they made their way to the Hob. Katniss needed some herbs for her mother's medicines while Gale went to buy new shoes for his two younger brothers, Vick and Rory, and with the extra money from Darius, they even had enough to buy a small Christmas present for Prim and Posy and a new dress for Hazelle, Gale's mother.  
They walked back to the Seam in silence, but it was a happy silence, neither of them had even dared to hope they'd be that lucky. Only when they parted and went in different directions, Gale spoke. "See you later, Catnip. Wear something pretty", he teased her. She smiled.  
"See you later." And with those words, she turned around and walked home. For a short moment, Gale looked after the girl, how she walked up the small path to her house, the heavy game bag rested on her shoulder. Then he turned around and made his way home, his thoughts already at the Christmas dinner, where he would finally see his Catnip again.

Hazelle was beyond pleased when she saw the turkeys Gale brought home and Posy squeaked in excitement when she learned that Gale had brought her a present. He smiled, seeing his whole family in such a cheerful mood. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his mother so happy, since Gale's father had passed away in the mine explosion four years ago Hazelle hadn't had many occasions to smile. Only when Katniss and Gale were lucky enough to bring home more than a day's amount of meat, her face had lit up a bit.

They spent the afternoon decorating the whole house, while Hazelle started to pluck and stuff the turkey with the chestnuts and apples Vick and Rory had brought home from the woods yesterday. They hung up fir branches, set up candles and Posy even sacrificed her hairbands to tie up some mistletoe. There was much laughing and singing going on, and for a moment Gale paused and watched his younger siblings, wishing the moment of happiness could last forever, and even though he knew it was silly he found himself wishing they would never grow up to the reaping age.

Before Gale had realized it had become dark and the moment of the Christmas dinner had arrived. There was a firm knock on the door and he rushed to open, but Rory was faster.  
"Merry Christmas!" he called out cheerfully as he let Katniss, Prim and their mother enter. Hazelle immediately rushed over to welcome their friends and almost teared up when little Prim handed her a self-made plum cake as present. Finally Katniss came over to Gale, handing him a small packet wrapped in brown paper.  
"Merry Christmas", she said and he reached behind him and produced a small wooden box and exchanged it for Katniss' packet.  
"Merry Christmas, Catnip!" he replied and she nodded, meaning thank you. Katniss had never been a girl of many words, but neither had Gale.  
For a moment, there was an awkward silence between them, and Gale lifted his gaze to the ceiling, in hope of finding a topic of conversation, when his eyes got caught by something. Hanging right over their heads was a small green bundle with white spherical fruit. Mistletoe.  
"Know what they used to say about mistletoe before the dark days?" he said absently.  
"The ancient people believed that if two people kissed under mistletoe, they'd have a year of good luck." He lowered his eyes and finally dared to look at his best friend. Their eyes met all of a sudden, and Katniss blushed slightly and looked away immediately, as if she'd only now discovered how interesting the pattern of the wooden wall looked. Gale took a step closer to Katniss and then he worked up his courage and softly put his hand on her cheek. Her eyes flickered back to his, not sure where to look and what to do as their faces came closer and closer, and then –  
"Gale! Look what Prim brought for us!" Vick cried enthusiastic, holding up a basket filled with goat cheese. They both startled at the voice of Gale's little brother and Gale pulled back his hand. Katniss took a shaky step back, blushing, and turned away.  
"That's awesome, thank you very much, Prim!" Gale exclaimed, faking a smile and hoping no one had seen what had been about to happen between and Katniss. Prim smiled warmly at Gale, then Posy pulled her away to show her something.  
"Why don't we all have a seat?" Hazelle proposed, and everyone shuffled over to the nicely decked table in the middle of the room.  
Katniss took a seat between Hazelle and Prim, avoiding Gale's eyes, and he felt a sting of rejection in his chest. And he hoped with all his heart that he hadn't just ruined their friendship with his stupid, stupid feelings.


	3. It's Time for Christmas (Doctor Who)

**3 – It's Time for Christmas**

The Doctor sighed. It was one of these days when he just didn't know what to do. So many places to go, so many already gone to… How many unseen places were left? What if someday there wouldn't be a place left to go?  
"You're going all yowzah again, Doctor!" the brown-haired young man said and angrily shook his head to get rid of that ridiculous thought.  
"Well it's not my fault if I'm bored!" The Doctor protested. "I hate being bored, it's so boring! I get all sorts of ideas when I'm bored!" He jumped up from his seat and started hobbling around the Tardis controls. "Once I was so bored I taught a fly how to buzz in Chinese. Awful small memory it had. Oh, and a lot of nasty words for such a small creature!"  
"Maybe it just didn't like the fact that you kidnapped it and flew it all across the universe!" The brown-haired man reminded him.  
"Well it was free to buzz off at any time!" The Doctor rolled his eyes. "And apart from that, Musciodae was a really boring planet! At least it got to see the Medusa Cascades before it died which is more than most flies can say for themselves!" He pulled a lever. "Hang on, who am I even talking to?"  
The Doctor turned and looked around in the Tardis. But there was no other person to be seen.  
"Oh. Just me." He realized. "Well in that case" He dashed off to the hat stand next to the Tardis doors and put on the red velvety fez, "I'll leave the choosing to you!" And then he was back at the control panel, pulling levers, pushing buttons at random. "Ready, Sexy?" He started the Tardis. The familiar swooshing came on as the Tardis disintegrated and lifted the Doctor off the surface of the Earth and into the unknown. He only realized he'd left the shields off when an enormous blow rocked the Tardis and knocked him off his feet, and the next thing he saw was a giant sabulous mountain that had drilled his way into the Tardis and was now covering the Tardis console.

The Doctor needed a few seconds and a scan of his sonic screwdriver to realize that the sandy mountain hadn't in fact made its way into the Tardis, but the Tardis was actually lying on its side and the doors had been blown open during the collision with whatever they'd flown into.  
"Well that's… unusual." The Doctor said to himself and turned back to the console, pressing some buttons, and the swooshing started again. He pulled the Tardis out of reality just long enough to readjust the position so this time, he landed on upside up, as the Tardis should have in the first place.  
"Alright, sexy" he murmured and stroked gently over the controls. "Where did you land us this time?" He pulled up the monitor, but then changed his mind and turned away from the engines. "Only one way to find out!" He picked up the velvety fez that had fallen from his head in the crash and brushed the sand off it, then he opened the door, just a bit to sneak a peek, when a firm grip closed around his arm and pulled him out, and the next thing he knew he was pressed against the Tardis doors, a human body squeezing against his and soft, female lips locking his own.  
He was way too surprised to protest, and only when the woman pulled back from the kiss he realized who was standing in front of him.  
"Hello, Sweetie!" River Song said with a cheeky smirk. "Long time, no see!"

The Doctor shuffled his feet, still overwhelmed by the surprise attack from his favourite criminal.  
"I was busy!" he just replied and softly pushed her aside to take in his surroundings. The Tardis had landed on a sandy ground that stretched out as far as the Doctor could see, only at the horizon he could just about make out a city.  
"Where are we?" He asked River and then strolled off to scan the surroundings, not even listening to her answer. "Seems to be a desert planet, San Helios maybe? Probably made by alien-"  
"Doctor!" River interrupted his deductions. "I hate to spoil your fun, but…" she pointed behind the Doctor's back. He spun around and suddenly realized where they were. Right behind the Tardis, a gigantic sand sphinx rose from the desert ground and into the sky, and a big hole gaped where should have been her nose.  
"Giza", the Doctor said and wrinkled his nose. "We're in Giza! Why the hell" he turned around , addressing River, "Are we in Giza?"  
"The question is, Doctor, how the hell did that nose just come off? Seriously, can't you ever just go somewhere without damaging anything?" she smirked.  
"That wasn't my fault!" he protested. "How should I know the Tardis was going to randomly crash into something?"  
"Did you leave the shields down again?"  
"No! …Yes."  
"You're never going to fly that Tardis right, are you?" She grinned.  
"Where would all the fun be if I did that?" He grinned back and extended a hand towards the beautiful blonde woman. "Coming?"  
"Only if you take off that ridiculous fez!" She pointed to his head.  
"No, I can't I'm trying to blend in here!" He protested, but River only laughed. "Well, Doctor, you're in the wrong country for that! Off with it!" She held out her hand, demanding the fez. "You don't want me to shoot it off again, do you?" She added when the Doctor hesitated.  
"No!" He exclaimed and clutched his fez like a baby, then, after a second unwillingly handed it over to her. "But don't damage it!" But River just smiled.  
"Well, are we going then? It's not every day you're landing in ancient Egypt, is it?" The woman winked at the Doctor as she stuffed the ridiculous hat in her handbag which was obviously time lord technology – bigger on the inside. Without waiting for a response, she took the Doctors hand and turned around and walked towards the giant sphinx, pulling the man after her.  
"There's been some weird deaths around the great pyramid so I thought we should better check it out" The blond woman explained excitedly. "I've always wanted to explore the secret passages in the pyramids! I'm guessing the snakes Khufu put in as a trap should be dead by now, although I heard one of them is rumoured to be a basilisk which would explain all this in the first place…"  
"So that's why you brought me here?" the Doctor asked. "A snake hunt in ancient Egypt?"  
"No, silly, I don't need help with a little alien snake!" River replied, a flirty smile on her lips. "I called you here because you look gorgeous next to me and to give you this"  
Without a warning she took hold of the Doctor's lapels and pulled him close and then her lips were on his and she kissed him passionately, and this time, he kissed back, with the same passion. Even though she annoyed him he'd missed her, and he could never imagine a life without her occasional callings.  
"Merry Christmas, sweetie!" She whispered when she pulled back way too soon. "Now, are you in on the snake hunt?" She grinned, and without another word, the Doctor pulled her further towards the pyramids and into an adventurous adventure in ancient Egypt.

***  
Hi peeps! Thank you for reading until here and I hope you like what I have so far, although you see I'm a little bit late...  
Anyway, I would be really pleased if you could leave me a small review.  
Have fun reading on!  
Love, Annie


	4. The First Noel (The Maze Runner)

**4 – The First Noel**

It was early morning when the two shadows got up from their beds in the Homestead and silently made their way out of the building, trying not to wake any of the other shanks. The bigger one silently opened the door and held it open for the other to slip out, then they broke into a run, towards the north wall of the giant fence that was trapping the twelve boys in the Glade. It was still an hour until sunrise, when the Runners would take up their job of mapping the Maze and depart into the grey structure, and Nick had to be back by them, since he was going to join them. But first, his duty lay elsewhere. He and Alby stopped at the wall and the dark-skinned boy produced a knife out of his pocket while Nick took up counting the slim lines carved into the thick stone walls.  
"Three hundred and sixty-four", he said with hushed voice. "Three hundred and sixty-five days. I've been here a whole year!"  
"Guess this makes today your birthday!" Alby answered.  
"Yeah, I feel like it's bloody Christmas for me, shuckface!" Nick said, a bit more harshly than intended, and looked up at the sky. "One whole year, and it has never rained, not once." He sighed. "And it hasn't snowed either."  
The dark skinned boy extended the knife towards the other.  
"You do it." He insisted, nodding towards the wall. Nick took the blade with an ineloquent expression and put it against the stone wall, carving another line next to the 364 others and then made a circle around them, marking the first year in the Maze as complete.  
"The first year in how many?" He asked himself, silently, but hopeless. Knowing he'd been here a whole year made the fact that they were trapped much more real and much more terrifying. What if there was really no way out?  
"Shut up," he thought and angrily pushed his fear aside, when Alby spoke.  
"Christmas," He said.  
"What?" Nick, who was still facing the mural, turned his head towards the boy, confused.  
"Christmas!" Alby repeated. "Do you remember? Before – well, this – there used to be this tradition, in winter, where everyone decorated the house and gave gifts to his family and stuff… I just thought maybe we could – maybe we should – do it here, too. To remember that our goal is to find a way out."  
There was a silence after Alby finished.  
"Maybe you're right", the leader said after a minute. "Maybe that's what the shanks need. A little cheer-up after what happened to Newt in the Maze. Maybe we could all use a break from this and just pretend to be back in the before again." He looked up at the dawning sky. Would it be possible to pull this off? To try and celebrate Christmas, like in the old days? He looked over to the homestead, where several Gladers had gotten up and started walking around, preparing for another day of their lives in the Glade.  
"We should get back" Alby said. "They're going to take off soon."  
Nick nodded, and the two boys set off, back into the middle of the Glade, and when they were close enough, Nick stopped running.  
"Yo, listen up shanks!" he yelled over the chatter of the nine Gladers eating breakfast, scattered on the grass right in front of the homestead. "Since the day I arrived here I've been counting the days, as some of you might know, and today it's been exactly one year." He looked at the nine boys' faces, some of them showing disbelief, some despair, but all of them looking at him with respect.  
"This is why I have decided that today and tomorrow will be special days, days of celebration. I'm sure you all remember the word and the meaning of Christmas, a feast of love and appreciation, where one gives presents to one's family and eats turkey until everyone's full. What I want is all of you to know that even though we are trapped in here, we still have a family and we still have stuff to appreciate, so I want every single one of you to help with the preparations." He paused for a little moment, then continued. "We are each other's family now, and even though some bad things have happened lately I want these two days to represent all the good things that have happened to us. The fresh water, the food and the whole Glade, all this isn't nothing. So Winston, Frypan, I want you to prepare a big feast for all of us, Gally, you and Zart will take over decorating the Homestead, and everyone else, prepare something for each other. Today is going to be the first Christmas Eve in the Glade, and I want everyone to participate!" There were delighted whispers after Nick had finished, and he could see the excitement grow in the faces of the teenagers, a glimpse of hope rising in this hopeless place.  
"What about Newt?" Frypan asked, "Will he join us?"  
"Alby and I are going to take care of it," the young leader answered. "Any other questions?" But no one spoke up. Nick dismissed the ten Gladers who ran off, excited about the change of schedule, the distraction from their captivity and a reason to be jolly, to joke and laugh without feeling guilty. He and Alby looked after the boys, how they dived into work, and sighed.  
"Let's go then" Nick said and walked towards the Homestead, with the dark-skinned boy right behind him.

Several hours later all the preparations had finished, and the Gladers gathered again. There were branches of tan hanging everywhere, decorated with apples, mimicking the Christmas balls the people hung on their trees during the before, the picnic tables in front of the homestead were packed with fruit and nuts and a smell of turkey and cake was in the air. It was starting to get dark and Stephen and Gally were busy setting up a bonfire while the other boys slowly arrived, one by one, until everyone was present and the fire was blazing through the night. Even Newt had joined them, his arm and leg still thickly bandaged but his eyes glistening with anticipation, smiling for the first time since his accident.  
Frypan opened the celebration by walking out of the kitchen, an enormous plate with stuffed turkey on it on each hand and the Gladers applauded heavily as he put them down in the middle of the small circle they'd formed around the fire. The Glade's cook then proceeded to cut the two turkeys into pieces and handing them out to the hungry boys, all waiting for their leader to tell them to start.  
Nick stood as soon as he'd filled his plate with the warm food, and all the other boys fell silent.  
"I'm going to keep it short; thank you all for helping to create this event, especially Frypan and Winston for conjuring this amazing meal, and have a Merry Christmas!"  
With these words he sat down and the Glader boys sank their teeth in the delicious meat on their plates, and they ate and laughed until they were full. Tired, but happy, they decided they were too lazy to get to bed and would sleep outside instead, all except Newt who was still shaky, and Nick helped him back inside the Homestead, where the red-haired boy collapsed on his bunk and almost immediately fell asleep. The leader of the Gladers waited for a moment, watching the injured sleep, then he turned around and headed back outside to join the others who'd already made themselves comfortable on the grassy ground, and he found Alby and lay down next to him. Lying on his back, the dark-skinned boy faced the deep black sky over the Glade, and silently, so only Nick could hear, he whispered: "Maybe one day we will even celebrate a real Christmas."


	5. Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire (PJO)

**5 – The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)**

"Okay everyone, be quiet please!" Chiron said with loud voice and clapped his hands, trying to get the horde of demigod kids to stop talking, a task not as easy as it sounds as all of the children had ADHS and were way too excited for what was about to come. Still, the centaur managed to quiet the crowd of cheerful children and they turned around, facing him and the bored god standing beside him and sipping on a diet coke.  
"As you all know our annual Christmas celebration is coming up this week," Chiron said, "And therefore, normal lessons will be cancelled."  
The children broke out in happy chatter, some of them whooping, and again the centaur clapped his hands and shushed, until he was finally able to return to his information speech.  
"But each cabin will get a task list and if necessary split up in some smaller groups," He glanced at the Hermes cabin's table, "in which you're going to help preparing the celebration. This includes decoration, managing the Secret Santa Action and setting up the Christmas trees. I will hand out the task and group lists to the cabin leaders and you will start after breakfast. I hope this year's preparations will turn out a bit… less chaotic as last year," Chiron's eyes wandered to the children of Ares, "and we will all have a wonderful time." Beside Chiron Mr. D made a face, obviously annoyed by the extra time he would be forced watching the young demigods.  
"Yeah, enough talking, whatever. Enjoy breakfast." The god of wine added and then sat down, Chiron following his example, and the camp took up its loudness again, eating and joking with their brothers and sisters.

After they'd finished the cabin leaders got up and went over to Chiron to collect their task sheets and each cabin gathered to get their instructions; the Demeter cabin was in charge of the Christmas trees and the mistletoe, which they immediately started to grow, the Apollo children started rehearsing Christmas carols for the performance they'd be giving at the celebrations while the Hephaestus cabin went back to their forge to prepare the ornaments who mysteriously seemed to vanish every year. The Aphrodite boys and girls arranged the Secret Santa action while Dionysus' children started cooking glühwein and eggnog and the Ares and Athena girls and boys split up, helping wherever they could. Soon the whole Camp was buzzing about, hanging mistletoe over doors, humming Christmas songs, carrying wrapping paper and gifts to the Hermes cabin that had set up a gift wrapping service.  
The only person who was not at all content with the whole situation at camp was Mr. D. He sat in his office, sipping on his diet coke and now and then trying to snatch a glass of glühwein but even on Christmas Eve his punishment wasn't reversed. And as if that wasn't enough he still had to put up with these unbearable children. He groaned ill-temperedly as the glühwein turned into water for the millionth time that day and Chiron, who had just entered the god's study, shook his head.  
"Come on, Dionysus. Can't you be jolly for one day? Admit it, even you love Christmas!" But the god only shot him a deadly look.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" He said grumpily and finally gave up chasing the glühwein across the table. Chiron opened his mouth to reply but thought better, not wanting to risk being the first victim to actually be turned into a dolphin which Mr. D frequently threatened doing to anyone bothering him, and on a day like this the probability of an event like this happening was twice as likely. So he just shrugged and updated the god on the progress of preparations. Then he left the grumpy old man alone to join the joyful campers and help the different cabins sort out all kind of problems (most of them involving the sudden growth of way too many trees).

The Afternoon went by in a heartbeat and before anyone noticed evening had fallen and the celebration was about to start. The campers swarmed into the dining pavilion one by one, carrying their Secret Santa surprises and wearing Christmas jumpers knit by the Athena kids, and soon happy jabber filled the air. Finally, when everyone was present and sitting on their chairs, Mr. D stood up.  
"Another year over I guess," he said boredly and yawned. "Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year." And with that, the god took his place and Christmas had officially begun. Satyrs appeared, carrying the Christmas dinner, pizza, turkey, vegetables, Christmas cookies; everything the children's hearts (or stomachs) desired and the campers filled their plates with food. Then every demigod got up and walked over to the stove to sacrifice a part of their dinner to their godly parent. They took seat again and finally started eating, tearing open Christmas crackers once in a while, telling jokes and putting on the paper hats, until even the most hungry kid was stuffed and happy.

The Secret Santa surprises came next and the little daughter of Athena was getting nervous. She'd spent a long time thinking of a good present to get her recipient, and she still was afraid he wouldn't like it or think of it as stupid and childish. It wasn't just someone she'd drawn this year; Annabeth had had a crush on him since she'd met him for the first time two years ago. And even though he was seven years older than her, she hoped that one day, he'd notice her the way she noticed him.  
Her present was simple, but nice. She'd made the leather bracelet herself and woven two wing charms into it, symbolising the winged shoes of Hermes, Luke's father. They were made of celestial bronze and Charles Beckendorf, one of the sons of Hephaestus had promised her they'd protect the bearer from all evil. Annabeth just hoped that he wasn't lying about it.  
When it was time to give her gift, she stood up with shaking legs and waited until the leader of the Hermes cabin had gone to give his gift, then she darted over to the Hermes table and as quick as a wink put down the present, hoping none of his brothers had noticed her. But why wouldn't they? Annabeth was a shy, nine-year-old Athena girl who only opened up when she was battling another camper in the arena.  
She almost didn't notice Connor Stoll placing a present in front of her, she was too focused on Luke, hoping to catch his reaction to her present, and hoping it would manage to put a smile on his serious face. She smiled at Connor and said a timid "Thank you" just before the son of Hermes disappeared again, just as Luke returned to his seat, noticing the present that had been placed in his absence. She saw him looking around, trying to figure out whom his present had come from, but after a moment he shrugged and untied the bow. He removed the cover and peered inside the box Annabeth had carefully wrapped, and took out the bracelet, carefully looking at it. He didn't smile. For a moment Annabeth thought she'd seen a shadow flicker over Luke's face, a shadow of disappointment and anger, then he pushed the bracelet in the pocket of his jeans and the shadow, if it hadn't been Annabeth's imagination, was gone.  
She looked away, to her own untouched present, and feeling a sting in her heart, she untied the beautiful bow and carefully removed the wrapping paper, uncovering a beautiful book.  
"Merry Christmas, Annabeth" Connor had written on a small card that was lying on the book's cover and in spite of her stinging heart she smiled, pleased with the wonderful gift she'd gotten. Even though Connor could be a nuisance, he was a nice guy, Annabeth realized and when she looked up she saw the Hermes son's eyes on her and smiled.  
"Thank you!" she mouthed and Connor smiled back, then, after a moment, turned away towards his twin brother who was sitting next to him, and Annabeth's gaze wandered back to the book as she tried not to think about Luke's reaction.

Finally, the Apollo cabin got up and sang their Christmas carols, until eventually the whole camp joined in and the Hephaestus cabin ended the celebration with a self-made firework. On the way back to her cabin Annabeth caught Luke's gaze and he smiled.  
"Merry Christmas, Annie!" He smiled and again she felt a sting in her heart as she remembered the bracelet she'd spent hours on making. But she forced a smile anyway.  
"Merry Christmas" she replied and then quickly followed her brothers back to their cabin.


End file.
